Detroit House Destroyed In Gas Explosion

DETROIT (WWJ) - A house has exploded in Detroit; but, fortunately, there was no one inside.

Emergency crews remained on the scene into Tuesday evening, following the blast at around 2 p.m. on Haverhill St., between I-94 and Harper, on the city's east side.

"We have an house explosion; it appears to be from gas," Detroit Fire Captain Dennis Hunter told WWJ's Sandra McNeill. "Everything is still under investigation, and we're doing some searching right now to make sure no one was in the home."

Hunter said it would take hours to thoroughly search the rubble, by hand and with heavy equipment.

Later, officials said they were satisfied that the home was unoccupied and no one was hurt in the explosion.

Officials said one firefighter suffered a knee injury at the scene and another was being treated for heat exhaustion at a local hospital.

Earlier, several neighbors reported hearing the loud blast, which leveled the house.

"I just heard it blow up, and all my dining room windows blew out," said a woman who lives next door. "So I went to the back, I was gonna go move my car, but when I went out...their whole house was in my driveway."

The house on the other side also caught fire. Everyone was able to get out safely, and a couple of pets were later rescued.

A spokesperson for DTE Energy said the gas has been shut off to the home and that a DTE crew would be on hand to help investigate.